“Wow. I’m sure Jamie needs to lose a little bit of weight.”
Jurgen Klopp has responded to Jamie Carragher’s claim that perhaps Virgil van Dijk needs to some weight before the club can see him perform to his best. Van Dijk scored the winning goal in the FA Cup Merseyside derby, his debut for the club, but otherwise hasn’t particularly impressed since his £75m move from Southampton.
Carragher said on Sky Sports on Thursday that he expects Van Dijk to become a key player for Liverpool, but he still has some adjusting to do at his new club.
“I think it will prove to be a great signing,” Carragher said on The Debate.
“But he hasn’t hit the ground running. I think he needs to get fit and lose a bit of weight. He actually looks too big. Maybe that’s to do with not having a pre-season, not playing too many games for Southampton.”
These comments were inevitably put to Klopp in his press conference on Friday. When asked what he thought of Carragher’s claim that Van Dijk needs to lose some weight, the Liverpool manager said:
“Nothing. Wow. I’m sure Jamie needs to lose a little bit of weight. I know it’s not the case for Virgil. He’s a big, tall lad, that’s how it is. We have the best nutrition department, no-one has come to me and said that. Being fit means having more muscle than anything else. It’s not an issue.”
Klopp went on to tell reporters that he is “very happy” with Van Dijk’s contribution so far, and that the player is merely getting used to his new surroundings.
“There’s a few ups and downs, but we will see Van Dijk at his best after the summer. We don’t have to wait until then, so we got him in. The defending style of our defending is different to Southampton, that’s why it makes sense that you get used to it.”
Carragher and Gary Neville discussed Liverpool’s business in the January transfer window on The Debate on Thursday night, you can watch them here:
WATCH: Did @LFC have a successful transfer window?
Watch #TheDebate with @GNev2 and @Carra23 live on Sky Sports Premier League now. pic.twitter.com/aV7miiD0mo
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 1, 2018
